Elementary school teachers, I need your help?

Question

I finished my first year in nursing, but I'm not sure if I want to be a nurse anymore. I kind of want to be an elementary school teacher. Is it hard sometimes? Is there a lot of kids who are hard to handle? What do you do for kids to be interested when you're teaching? Do you have a good salary? Would you rather be doing another job? If you think there's anything else you should add, please do.

Thanks!

Answer 1

English is the most easiest language of the world. The more u utilize, the more u'll learn from it. If u need help u may ask qs.

Answer 2

for me, salary n the rest r not very important but the most important is do i like my job? do i like children? do i like teaching more than nursing? tell u frankly, last time i oso want to be a nurse! but all of sudden, my aunt asked me an important question , "do u very like nursing? once u step in, it is hard to move back!" after that, i thought for a long time n then i told myself,"i love teaching than nursing!" n nau im not a school teacher but a daycare teacher of the greatest educare centre in my country(malaysia)! but let me tell, when i had like ur situation last time, i oso asked a lot of my friends n relatives n all they said, "it hard to become a nurse", "blood, urine, dirtiness n more"! it is all based by ur interest n not the salary or others!

Answer 3

I don't know any profession anywhere in the world that isn't hard sometimes! Having said that, the specific things that make teaching hard are the things you don't expect when you sign on to "teach children." As a elementary school teacher you also end up being sort of like:

a guidance counselor,

a social worker,

a security guard,

an interior designer,

a babysitter,

an art consultant

an editor

a housekeeper

a mother (even if you're male)

an athletic director

a coach

a chauffer

a bus monitor

a police officer

a chef

a nurse

etc.

I could go on, but what I'm trying to say is that there are MANY aspects to the job, that really have nothing to do with teaching an actual curriculum lesson but more to do with teaching a young person how to be a decent citizen. When one student accuses another student of theft in your classroom, your lesson on congruent shapes has to go on the back burner and you try to help the students work through through their problem.

When your staff decides to have Friendly Friday, where everyone brings a homecooked something, and you don't usually cook much, you suddenly become a chef so you won't let your staff down.

When a parent phones you to complain that the child who sits beside her daughter is scratching her head non-stop, and she suspects he has lice, you become the school nurse, and have a quick look at the child's head.

The one thing I can tell you for absolute certainty is that if money is a concern (meaning if having money is important to you - money for nice clothes, and a yearly vacation, and a nice car, and a couple nights out for dinner every month) do NOT, I repeat do NOT become a teacher. For the work that they do, teachers are NOT well paid at all. There is no overtime pay, but there is LOTS and LOTS of overtime work.... it is one of the few professions where you often have to pay for your own professional development. If you want to take a course to upgrade your skills, you'll probably be paying for it yourself, and additional qualification courses run about $800.00 per course. You often end up buying things to make your classroom look better... you don't get reimbursed for that. If your class wall needs a coat of paint, you'll probably be buying the paint yourself, because if you wait until the school gets a new paint job, you'll be waiting years and years and years!

The last thing I'll say is that there is NO other job I'd rather be doing!!!!

Every day is always different, you meet mostly fantastic, caring people - colleagues, students and parents, and you have a chance to significantly shape the future. What other profession can say that?

Answer 4

If money is an issue, you have to realize that you could probably make double a teacher's salary if you continue with nursing.  The other answerers said that they are able to support their families on their teaching salary, but, where I live, the cost of living is so high (California) that it is a huge struggle for teachers to support their families with a single salary.  Even being a single person with a teacher's salary, I know there is no possibility of me ever buying a house in the future unless I leave the state.  

Money aside ... teaching is an incredibly rewarding profession.  Most people who enter teaching do so with the knowledge that they will be underpaid and under-appreciated, but that the personal rewards they get from being a good teacher will make up for these short-comings.  

A couple things to consider before you decide to change career directions ...

1.  Everybody who enters teaching says they "like kids," but you really need to have more than that to go on.  Honestly, there are going to be kids in your class that you absolutely do not like and you're going to have to deal with them for a whole year.  You need more than just "liking kids" to keep you going.  Also, I have to say that I totally enjoy playing with my friends' kids who are 5 or 6, but having a class of 20-30 kindergartners is an absolutely different story!!!!  You couldn't pay me enough to teach kindergarten.

2.  A teacher's schedule might look appealing (and I have to say that summers off are awesome), but even though the kids leave at 3:00, most teachers I know stay for at least a few hours after that.  There is so much prep work to do!  A lot of teachers I know also give up one day of each weekend to prepare for the following week or they take papers home with them at night to grade.  I would say that average elementary school teacher works 55-60 hours a week.  I'm sure that as a nurse you don't have to take work home with you ... right?

3.  If this is something you seriously want to consider why don't you become a substitute teacher for a few months.  Try out every grade level to see where you think you'll fit well.  You may be surprised that you like middle school more than elementary or you might be one of those gems who can actually teach the little ones!  I'm not sure what state you're in, but to be a sub. in California all you need is a BA or BS and a simple test called the CBEST.  I'm sure there's a similar test wherever you are.  You might even be able to sub once or twice a week while continuing with your nursing job.

Good luck!

Answer 5

It's been my experience, that some kids are difficult, some are good and there are those in between.  Depending on how young you want to deal with children, the more difficult they are. I'm a third grade teacher, and I enjoy that age since they're still young, but slowly learning independence. Kindergarten- 2nd grade is more difficult. The children have more needs, especially in kindergarten. (Wetting pants, getting sick, ...) Children really enjoy learning some kind of independence, I usually incorporate their ideas and try to plan what they want to do with something more educational. I have a good salary,  I work in a small town and I think most teachers have a very nice salary- especially when you're just starting out. No, I love my job. It's really rewarding to watch the children grow and I get to have fun too. Good luck!!

Answer 6

Funny. I started going to school to become a nurse, but I changed my mind halfway through. So I didn't really take any nursing courses.

Anyway, I absolutely love my job. Being a teacher is a challenge, but it is extremely rewarding. Each year, I get a new group of students who hardly know how to read or write. By the end of the year, we have worked so hard and they are able to read various stories and write their own stories as well.

In my eight years of teaching, I have had at least one challenging student in my classroom each year. It's funny, because those are the students I tend to connect with more. I try to find the underlying problem and work with the student to improve behavior and overcome obstacles.

My salary is decent. I've been able to support my family as a teacher. The benefits are good as well.

I can't see myself doing any other job (not even nursing).

Answer 7

I say stick with nursing.  Nurses are a lot more in demand than teachers are.  You will get a job easier and eventually make more money.